In the last couple days, I have seen your video “Why I’m Not a Feminist” pop up a few times. In the video, you describe why you are not a feminist. At the heart of your message is the assertion, “I am not a feminist because I believe both genders should be treated equally.” Setting aside for a moment the problems with your assumption that gender can be reduced to a binary of male/female (here’s a decent introduction to that if you want), I want to talk about the misinformation you offer in your video: misinformation about feminist activism and scholarship, and misinformation about domestic violence and rape. I don’t often find engaging in these types debates online to be the most fruitful use of my energies, since people that produce anti-feminist content generally are not very open to meaningful engagement with feminist thought, however I’ve been stewing over your…

““How come every other organ in your body can get sick and you get sympathy, except your brain?” – (Wax, 2012)

Anxiety disorders are associated with a range of unpleasant symptoms, starting anywhere from excessive worry; hyper-vigilance; avoidance; emotional distress and tension; faulty and irrational thinking to physical anxiety reactions(Arcvic.org.au, 2014). As someone who has been diagnosed with acute anxiety myself, this issue is quite close to home and being unable to base the assignment around myself, I asked a close friend of mine to talk about her similar experiences with the disorder.

There is a massive stigma around invisible illnesses, and as such I was only able to find one talent for my assignment. Sophia Anna (2012) writer for lipmag.com says that “something as important as a genetic disorder or a respiratory condition we have trouble acknowledging, because it is not accompanied by a walking aid or a severe rash“. A lot of people who suffer from anxiety often hide their symptoms because they’re embarrassed or ashamed of how they feel, they don’t want to admit that what they’re experiencing is really happening for fear of being outcasted and misunderstood, Anna goes on to say “It is a sad day for society when we do not recognise suffering as a worthwhile cause for compassion“.

Since the age of 13 Beth has been at the receiving end of fear, low self-esteem, depression, panic attacks and anxiety. She is now 21 year of age, and all of this had been undiagnosed until only early last year. The people around her have had trouble understanding what she is going through and why, because the illness seems so irrational, and often times there is no reason for the thoughts or feelings you experience during an attack and finding the right network of support or even just somebody to listen can be difficult and terrifying.

Being only able to talk to her mum who tried hard to understand what her daughter was going through, she reflects how “everybody else seemed so normal and I wasn’t and I couldn’t talk to anybody else, I didn’t want them to think that I was crazy“.

Promoting an issue like this is always necessary, even if finding people willing to talk about it is difficult. Although I might be one person less off a high mark Beth’s story speaks for itself, It still raises important concerns and it still asks people to listen and that awareness is ultimately what I was aiming for.

The most inspiring things can come from the youngest people.
At the age of 15, Jordyn isn’t like most other teenagers, she doesn’t go to parties on the weekends, she doesn’t sit at home in front of the television; Instead she is at her “favourite place”, Lyrebird soccer grounds in Nowra, NSW. Instead of using the internet or video games as an escape from reality, she prefers to exert her energy in a more constructive manner, where in her mind she can do anything as long as she keeps running. It was difficult getting more than a few sentences out of a teenager about something they enjoy, but the few lines I did manage to coax out of her explains it all.

Using original background sound grabs, un-copyrighted music and sound effects (ambient), I hope to convey my sisters emotional connection to her “favourite place in the world”, the local soccer field Lyrebird Park in her hometown of Nowra, NSW. Being related to the subject of the story, I have personally witnessed the effect of playing there has on her, from the moment she first kicked a ball to now, as she practices every weekend and competes monthly against other suburbs. I am going to be focusing on the natural background noises present at her soccer games, nature grabs, some personal recordings of her running around and also playing/kicking the ball with her younger brother while laughing. The mood/music in this assignment I want to be a mixture of ambient/pondering and also action oriented, to reflect the connection to the place but also the high level of energy given when performing.

For my assignment I am choosing to interview and photograph my younger sister, in her favourite place and doing her favourite thing, soccer. As a young active female, she actively participates in sports, and regularly attends soccer training and performs every month in tournaments against other suburbs. The challenges I expect are wind interference, the distance of the game and the background chattering of the other parents, I have received a zoom recorder and audio editing software and expect to be able to use this software at an advantage to overcome these particular problems and interferences. I feel like regular background noise such as collective cheering, clapping, nature and the kicking of the ball will be a great advantage to the setting and story I am aiming to portray.